Sigma's Ultra Wide Angle Lens Now Available

"As the manufacturer of the first ultra wide angle lens,
there are a number of reasons why we are incredibly excited about the arrival
of this lens," says Mark Amir-Hamzeh, general manager of Sigma. "The
fact that it produces a wide-angle view of nearly 121.2 degrees, depending on
what camera you are shooting with, is definitely at the top of that list."

The 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM lens also uses FLD glass, which
Amir-Hamzeh says is ligher than fluorite glass, but equal in terms of
performance.The lens incorporates four
FLD glass elements, a hybrid aspherical lens, and two glass mold elements to
correct distortion and astigmatism.

The lens was designed specifically for APS-C size image
sensors, and those will be the ones that benefit from the full 121.2 degree
viewing angle.It's available today for
Canon cameras at an MSRP of $1,100.

Sigma says we can expect to see the ultra-wide lens released
in Nikon, Sony and Pentax mounts in the next few weeks.